Yeast Prices - What happened?!!

[mashpaddled]

Depends on the lab. Some labs are getting around $10-12 but still seeing Wyeast and a few others around the same price.

 

[Conehead]

Yes, I always over build yeast. I bought a brick of US-05 and vacuum sealed them in ready to pitch amounts. I found around my town that DME has gone way up, can't win.

 

[z-bob]

Looks like Label Peelers has Omega and White Labs yeasts on sale right now.

 

[JacktardBrewmeister]

My yeast prices are still 4.99 to 6.99 for Safale, Lallemand, Mangrove Jack. Perhaps your area just raising the price? I did notice morebeer the prices are the same EXCEPT for the organic crap. But I had organic yeast looked at by a few biochemist pals of mine who I play table games with (and who drink my beer) check out the difference between organic yeast and non-organic and they said universally it looks like a gimmick and really you should only care about the taste. b^^ I know that is probably not much help, but that is from what I have seen.

 

[twd000]

You can also over-build the original package. Propagate a 2 liter starter from a single yeast packet. Pitch one liter and save the second one. Next batch make another 2 liter starter from the reserved 1 liter from batch 1. Pitch 1 liter from starter 2 and use the other 1 liter to make the next starter, and so on. A few cans of Propper is a lot cheaper than 4 new vials/packages of new yeast, and they're basically the same yeast as the original with little if any genetic drift.

Brooo Brother

I've been using the overbuilt starter technique as well, but I'm not sure if the statement about genetic drift is true. Isn't every feeding just the same as a miniature 1-Liter batch of beer? After 10 wort feedings, the number of cell replications in the starter jar is the same as it would have been after repitching yeast in 10 successive batches of beer, no? Except for the absence of hops, which shouldn't affect the mutation rate.

 

[Brooothru]

I'd agree on the face of it that there shouldn't be any drift. But, we don't brew in laboratory conditions. Wild yeast and rogue bacteria are ubiquitous in the environments where we participate in this hobby. Even though I've taken big steps to clean and disinfect my brew area, I know there are molds, bacteria and yeasts floating around, because I've had mold and bacterial infections in the past. Unless you work in a "clean room" or Level Five containment area, there's no way around it. Even surgical theaters and operating rooms with scrub-in and autoclaved instruments are not immune. So it should come as no surprise that we get drift. How much, and how many generations it takes, is an unknown with many variables, but they are cumulative.

Brooo Brother

 

[twd000]

right, I totally agree about the non-sterile homebrewing environment. I'm just pointing out that overbuilding a starter is equally non-sterile as repitching yeast from a finished batch of beer. Everytime I open the jar lid and pitch fresh wort into my starter flask, I'm opening the window to contaminants and mutation. If anything, the overbuilt starter is more prone to contamination due to the absence of any antiseptic properties of hops.

 

[Teromous]

I came here looking for answers to this same question. MoreBeer just raised their White Labs yeast by $1.

 

[Conehead]

Most of the liquid yeast in Ontario, Canada is around $10 - $13. I can deal with that, but the shipping is stupid. I live 90 min. from Toronto and the yeast was $12.79 and the shipping was over $15. On top of that, it takes Canada Post a week to deliver it. No sale.

 

[trboyden]

I paid less than $8 for Omega Kolsch yeast at Rite Brew a couple weeks back. So, I think this is definitely more of a case of, shop around better. Competition helps to keep prices low, so spread those homebrew dollars around to a few vendors.

 

[Dr_Jeff]

Most of the liquid yeast in Ontario, Canada is around $10 - $13.

$13 CAD = ~$10 USD